Georgia lottery officials said Thursday residents won't soon play video lottery games, despite a direct appeal by the developers of a proposed gaming resort in Gwinnett County.
"I don't think anytime soon," Georgia Lottery Board Chairman Jimmy Braswell said of when video lottery terminals, or VLTs, could be approved for use in-state. "As long as the opposition to the concept seems as strong as it is."
The chairman's comments came after developers made their pitch at the first meeting of the lottery board since the proposal became public. Developer Dan O'Leary and a Delaware casino company with Atlanta ties have proposed a $1 billion entertainment complex for a 122-acre industrial site near Norcross.
O'Leary on Thursday issued a personal invitation to board members to visit the proposed site and get a more thorough overview. The 10-minute presentation was the first official step in a process where Gov. Nathan Deal's opposition to the idea is a major factor.
The developer, who has made public appeals about the proposal in terms of its size and expected economic impact, called it a "silver bullet ... that will save the HOPE scholarship" and state-sponsored pre-k programs. Both programs depend on lottery revenue that has not kept pace with demand.
Braswell, who was appointed by Deal, said without support from the top, no dice. O'Leary needs approval from the lottery board in order to include VLTs.
"We believe this is a public policy decision that a seven-member appointed board should not decide on its own," Braswell said Thursday.
Deal ordered a crackdown last year on illegal online gambling at Internet cafes, and has said illegal forms of gambling in the state divert millions of dollars away from the lottery. He does not support expanding legal gambling in Georgia, a position affirmed again Thursday by his spokesman.
O'Leary, who is partnering on the proposal with Dover Downs, a Delaware casino company, also needs zoning approval from the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners. The issue has been framed as one of local control, with community leaders near the proposed site voicing support to move ahead.
Chamblee Mayor Eric Clarkson, speaking after the meeting, said he believes the project will spur other development, including at a former GM plant on the city's borders. O'Leary has pledged to donate land for a transit station along I-85 near Norcross -- if the state approves his plans.
The development, Clarkson said, "will be nothing but positive."
In an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution earlier this year, Charlotte Nash, who chairs the Gwinnett County Commission, said she was intrigued by a visit to Dover Downs. Still, she said state-level issues must be resolved before Gwinnett can consider any proposal.
Though she did not endorse the project, Nash said the county would consider it seriously.
Backers say the complex and its thousands of VLTs could create 2,500 permanent jobs and 1,000 construction jobs. They say it would generate $350 million a year for the HOPE scholarship and pre-k programs. The complex would include 1,500 hotel rooms, a theater and other amenities, including a proposed sports bar and restaurant backed by Heisman Trophy winner and former Georgia Bulldog Herschel Walker.
Opponents, however, say it will cause an increase in crime and social problems and open the door to Las Vegas-style gaming. Toby Tatum, policy analyst for the Georgia Family Council, told the lottery board Thursday that it also would have unintended economic consequences, including driving out local businesses.
"The ends," said Tatum, "do not justify the means."
Staff writer David Wickert contributed to this article.
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